Building Sandcastles: A look at the sandbox game genre [GamesCatalyst.com]

Games Catalyst: "A friend told me of his experiences with Heavy Rain: 'I was playing it, sitting hungover, unshaven, in boxers and grimy T-shirt, and the game was making me shave, shower and dress before I could even go downstairs — it took the realism to a new level — the in-game character was more well-groomed than I was!'"

They really need to start being innovative. Red Dead Redemption had generated random events that kept the game interesting because you can encounter a different situation each time. Borderlands also had the greatest evolution in gun gaming I've seen- countless guns that are different each time.

This all boils down to content. These game engines are getting more and more sophisticated and I see no reason why all of these ideas couldn't be incorporated into an open sandbox game.